In the emerging Internet enabled world of digital asset commerce, the ease with which assets may be transferred enables many new business possibilities. Unfortunately, this ease of transfer also exposes digital assets to widespread illegal copying and distribution. Content that is in digital form can be copied without degradation. As a result, distributors and artists lose potential sales to customers who might otherwise purchase content, but instead obtain it illegally.
Various encryption schemes have been developed to protect the content. However, the content may be exposed in unencrypted form when it is played back to a remote location such as an audio system or video monitor. Thus, knowledgeable intruders can intercept the content while it is being transferred from a playback drive to a remote playback device.